Atlas
by Shadow-Star Hatake
Summary: The Titan Atlas was punished by Zeus to carry Celestial Spheres, Leo forced himself to carry the weight of the family and any failures that fell onto himself and his brothers. Just as the weight of everything is crushing him, just as he reaches out his hand for his family they turn their back to him. The consequences of their actions forced the hand of God to take Leo's pain away.


**Atlas**

* * *

My name is Raphael Hamato and this is a story about my older brother Leonardo Hamato and his struggle to carry the weight of the world entirely on his shoulders alone. The struggle to carry everything on his own lead to his undoing, and never once did me nor my family or friends ever try to help carry any of that weight.

* * *

~20 hours earlier~

My younger brothers and I were hanging out with our human friends Casey and April while Leo decided to stay behind and train. Donnie and Mikey tried to convince Leo to come out with us to celebrate April's grand reopening of her shop but he refused, stating he needed to finish training. Me, I just shrugged him off stating to my younger brothers that Leo just wanted to be the hero and the apple in Splinter's eyes while we just stay in the background.

I didn't hide the fact that I was pissed at Fearless and made sure to show Fearless how annoying I thought he was. When he was lighting the candles in the dojo, I walked with my hands balled into a fist.

Shoving Leo to the side, I turned and faced him. Leo being who he was shook his head and started to get ready to train for the eighth time that night. I growled and jumped at Leo trying to get his attention in some way. Leo just side stepped me and kept his back to me.

"So ya Mista Prefect can't face a loser like me, huh? Ya hav ta be so high and mighty and make us feel like dirt don't ya?" I spat.

Leo turned and faced me, I thought he was going to hit or yell at me but all he did was point at the dojo door; signaling for me to leave. I composed myself and left, making sure to shoulder bump Leo on my way out and whispering to him, "You're such a burden, go die already."

I slammed the dojo door and gathered my younger brothers to leave. Mikey and Donnie looked at each other and back at the dojo then me.

"Just leave him, he doesn't want nor need us anyway." I stated. "But Raph" "No buts Mikey just leave Fearless and go, we do need him anyway."

Mikey looked at his feet with his sad puppy eyes for a moment but disregarded his feelings and follow me and Donnie to Aprils. Master Splinter was already there since he April wanted help with her display of Japanese artifacts and weapons and wanted someone who knew about them to help her display them with honor and respect.

* * *

It only took us about five minutes to get to April's apartment and start the party. April was the first to greet us with hugs and her calming voice. She looked back to the window and asked where Leo was.

"He's at home April, he wasn't feelin' all that good so he decided ta stay home." I said.

"Well I hope he feels better; I'll send some food home with you guys so he can have it." April said.

I looked at my brother and glared at them to shut up, lying to my family was one thing but lying to April guaranteed a lashing. Splinter knew that I lied about Leo but stayed quiet about it, he knew something was up with Leo but because Leo would never share anything to us, even he was in the dark.

We enjoyed the party so much that we decided to stay over while Casey was kicked out. We called Leo to tell him but every time we called it went to voicemail. Mikey and Donnie were a little worried about this but I just chalked it up to Fearless having tunnel vision and has his shell cell off. I turned my phone off and grabbed my younger brothers shell cells and shut them off too; showing Fearless how it feels to be shut off from the family.

I looked at the clock that was reading 2:45 am. I stretch my arms and spine and collapsed on one of the chairs in the room. My brothers followed my lead and went to the couch and collapsed into it also, Splinter was in a meditative trance or something so we just left him be. It was around 8:30 that we discovered how wrong we were about Leo.

* * *

~8:25 am~

I woke up to the smell of Mikey cooking us breakfast, Donnie was fiddling with some sort of gadget and Splinter was sitting at the kitchen table with April sipping tea. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes I stretch my arms and legs and joined everyone in the kitchen. Mikey finished cooking us breakfast and we were about to dive in when the window glass shattered and an arrow came flying across the room, striking the kitchen table.

My brothers and I dropped everything and readied our weapons, April was behind Donnie while Splinter grabbed the arrow. A small bag was tied to the arrow with some sort of message sprawled on it. Splinter read it aloud:

'_So you really don't get it. We gave you ample amount of time and what do you do, waste it and leave your loved one to finally communed by the darkness. Guess you really didn't care about him. Here we left you a parting gift from your departed, after all that's the only thing left of him. Try and find his body now, since you won't find him alive now.'_

The symbol of the Purple Dragon was signed at the bottom. My brothers and I gulped as we watched Splinter carefully untie the bag from the arrow, slowly opening the bag and dumping the contents on the table.

* * *

April covered her face with her hands and looked away, Mikey feel to his knee whispering to himself that this was all just a dream. Donnie was helping Splinter who stumbled backwards and was clutching his chest, never once taking his eyes away from the table. Me, I was trying to hold everything together but really I just wishing to God that this wasn't real.

On the table was Leo's bandana, the once blue bandana was now stained red leaving the left eye area free of blood. But that wasn't the only thing in the bag, that thing was what made everything worse. I tried to stay strong but instead lost it and ran into the bathroom to throw up. Staring us straight in the eye was just that an eye; Leo's eye.

The iris was still a warm chocolate brown, but the eye still had the its optic nerve still attached at the end of it. Dried blood was on the end of the nerve and sclera (whites of the eye). We all prayed that Leo if he really was dead didn't have to endure the torture of having his eye removed while he was still away.

* * *

I shook my head and turned my attention towards our shell cells, powering them up I saw we had three voicemails on it. I looked at my family and April and they all nodded, I pressed the play button and speaker button and listened to the final words from my brother.

'_Hey guys, pick up the phone already so we can talk. I know you are trying to avoid me but we need to talk about everything that has happened. Call me back soon I just-'_Leo was cut off by the sounds of people in the back ground.

'_Look its one of those mutant freaks, let's get him and show him to the boss.' _

'_Shell'_ Leo said. Leo started sprinting away but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get away that easily. Leo shut his shell cell meaning the first voicemail ended.

_*Beep*Beep*Beep* you have two new messages, new message._

'_Hey freaks guess what we got.'_ A thump from the background and some angry voices told us that Leo was captured.

'_I hope you pick up soon cause were gonna have some fun with him. Come find us if you want him back.' 'Argh'_ Leo cried. _'You better hurry cause were about to unveil a new toy we just got and your brother is the prefect target.'_

_*Beep*Beep*Beep* you have one new messages, new message._

_*Panting*Panting*_ was the only thing that could be heard at first but then he spoke once again.

'_So I guess you really don't care about your brother. But I can't really blame you he was so stubborn and wouldn't shed a tear, not even when we held him down and started to cut out his eye and forced him to stare at himself. Funny I now think we did you guys a favor, after all he was a burden to you freaks and even while we held him down he never gave up on the hope that you freaks would come and save him. _

_To his dying breathe he said his family was coming for him. Guess he was wrong, now we have a new game for you freaks its called find and seek. We are gonna scatter parts of his body all across Manhattan and you are gonna have to seek them out and play doctor to put him back together. Hahaha I hope you enjoy our little game. See you freaks in hell." _

_*Beep*Beep*Beep* No new messages._

* * *

The shell cell fell to the floor but that was the only thing. Everyone collapsed to the floor when they heard the last message. My brother was dead and we did nothing to help him, we ignored him and left him to fend for himself. I shook my head and ran out to the roof top, my brothers followed my lead.

No one had more guilt than I did; I was the one that left Leo at home alone, turned off our phones because I was pissed at him. Now I was forcing myself to bare that burden on my shoulders something my younger brothers and father shouldn't bear. None of this was their fault and because of my actions I lost my brother.

We all carry the weight of something on our shoulders. Leo carried the weight on the family and any failures on his shoulders. The weight of everything was killing him, no one helped him because we all believed that he didn't need it. When he was kidnapped and tortured by the Purple Dragons all he did was cry out for us and all we did was turn our backs on him. When we turned our backs on him everything just collapsed and everything he was forced to bear with collapsed under him. He was killed by the weight of the family and burden of believing he was a failure to the name of the Hamato.

Now I carry the burden of turning my back on my brother. Never once did I ever feel the weight of anything on my shoulders but as soon took the death of my brother solely on my shoulders did I feel the pressure of the world on me. We were never able to find any part of Leo and about two months of searching did we finally stop looking.

No body to burry, no last words to him.

* * *

Donnie surrounds himself with his work and buries himself so deeply that no one can break him from his trace. Caffeine was the only thing keeping awake at times until his body collapsed from exhaustion and he would sleep for days.

Mikey never smiled nor laughed again. He would just stay in his room, reading his comic books or video games. Losing reality in his childlike mind; it was the only way he would cope with the lost of his eldest brother. When he had nightmares at night he would run into Leo's room, expecting Leo's sleeping form to greet him. No such thing was there and he would collapse on the ground and cry out Leo's name.

Splinter mourned each day and night for his lost son. Leo was his favorite and now he was left with us, the rejects. It was about a month after Leo's death when Splinter collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest. Donnie did everything he could but Splinter couldn't be saved, he passed away from a heart attack. The only good thing about Splinter's passing was that he was going to join Leo in the afterlife.

Me, I just walk around the lair, trying to hold everything together but we all knew that once Leo was gone did the family shatter into millions of pieces and disappear. We aren't the same family we once were. Now I can truly feel the weight of everything on my shoulder but never once did I complain about it. Leo never did, so I silently walk around with the world on my shoulders.

The Titan Atlas was forced to carry the celestial spheres by the God Zeus now I carry the weight of my older brother, family, and anything failure that falls into our hands on my shoulders alone. Atlas carried the heavens on his back and shoulders, Leo carried us, and now it's my turn to carry the family.

* * *

**A.N:  
Just wanted to write to get the stress of today off my shoulders plus write something I read a lot about with Leo. R&amp;R.**


End file.
